Production of barium and barium alloys.



UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE 0. sEwAR AND FRANZ voN KilGELGEN, or HoLooMBs ROCK, VIRGINIA,ASSIGNORS o VIRGINIA LABORATORY COMPANY, or NEW YORK, Y., A- CORPORATIONOF NEW YORK.-

I PRODUCTION OF BARIUM AND. BARIUM ALLOYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 0a. 1a, 1908.

Application filed rma 2a, 1906. Serial No. 308,577:

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that we, GEORGE O. SmvAno,-a, citizen of the United States,and FiiA z VON KiieEneEN, a subject of the German Emperor, both residingat l-Iolcombs Rock, in the county of Bedford and State of Virginia, havejointly invented certain new and useful Imp'rovements'in the Productionof Barium and Barium Alloys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the production of barium or alloys thereof bythe electrolysis of a barium salt or compound.

Barium has been produced by electrolyzing barium chlorid, using acathode of mercury, and obtaining'a mercury-barium alloy from which themercury is separated by distillation. This process is not practical, and

' lyte.

doesnot produce barium in a pure state. Eflorts. have been made toproduce barium by electrolyzing molten barium chlorid with an ironcathode, but without success, the barium separating in so fine a stateof division that it would'fioat to the anode, and there recombine withthe halogen. The failure was probably due to the cathode not be ingsmall enough. -We have found that by sufficiently decreasin' the size ofthe cathode the metal is obtained in molten globules.

The resent-invention provides a method ofvpro ucing barium in a moltenstate by using an. iron cathode with a sufficiently high current densityand a suitable electro- If molten barium chlorid is used as theelectrolyte, it is very difficult to keep its temperature low enough forpractical results, and if the'temperature is not kept at the rightpoint, the separated metal has a tendency to redissolve 1n theelectrolyte.

We have discovered that much better results are obtained if bariumfluorid is added to the barium chlorid, which has the result of lowerinthe melting-point of the; electrolyte, and fiiminishing the tendency ofthe barium to redissolve therei n/ If we wish to produce'metallicbarium, we

submit .a molten mixture of barium chlorid and bariumfiuorid toelectrolysis, with an iron cathode, maintaining the current at asufficiently high density. If we wish to obtain alloys of barium, we useas the cathode the...metal with which it is desired that the bariumshould alloy. The proportions of barium chlorid to the barium fluorid orother 'sa t to be electrolyzed', may vary within wide limits; we havesuccessfully used a mixture of'90 per cent. by weight of barium chloridand 10 per cent. by weight of barium fluorid.

Instead of barium fluorid, any other barium salt may be substituted thatwill lower the melting point of the electrolyte and diminish thetendency of the barium to redissolve therein. Mixtures of barium saltsmay also be used. I

We claim as our invention 1.- The process which consists inelectrolyzing fused barium chlorid with the addi with barium, whereby toproduce an alloy of such metal with barium.

4. The process which consists in electro-.

lyzing a fused inixtureof barium chlorid and barium fluorid, by means ofa cathode of a metal capable of alloying with barium, wherebyto producean alloy of such metal with barium.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto signed our names in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE O. SEWARDQ FRANZ VON KUGELGEN. Witnesses:

F.- v. TRIDDER, J. H. WEBB.

in electro-

